In the 1970s, the ultimate trip for any backpacker was the storied “Hippie Trail,” a 3,000-mile trek from Istanbul to Kathmandu. A 23-year-old Rick Steves made the trek in 1978, and like a travel writer in training, he documented everything along the way: jumping off a moving train, making friends in Tehran, getting lost in Lahore, getting high for the first time in Herat, battling leeches in Pokhara, and more. The experience ignited his love of travel and forever broadened his perspective on the world.
On the Hippie Trail: Istanbul to Kathmandu and the Making of a Travel Writer—a New York Times bestseller now out in paperback—contains edited selections from Rick Steves’ journal and travel photos with a 45-years-later preface and postscript reflecting on how his journey through Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, and Nepal changed his life.